Harvard heads historic celebration

Greece, June 13, 2007

Kokkalis Foundation and Harvard University’s Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe will celebrate their 10th anniversary on June 18 in Greece.

A spokesman for the foundation said that it will host the largest gathering of its Harvard alumni, faculty and senior officials and Southeast European leaders as part of the celebrations.

The Kokkalis Program was founded by Socrates Kokkalis in 1997 at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with the mission of enhancing the quality of democracy and institutional vitality in Southeast Europe through education.

The same year, The Kokkalis Foundation was established in Athens to build bridges between the Kennedy School and Southeast Europe, and to contribute directly to the development of the public, cultural and scientific life of the region.

“In its 10 years of operation, the Kokkalis Program gave voice and presence to Southeastern Europe at Harvard University,” stated Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood.

“Through its provision of scholarships, educational training and events, the program has become the Kennedy School of Government’s largest and most effective regional program.'

'It has an alumni network of nearly 300 individuals whose leadership, initiative and determination are helping to promote peace and prosperity in Southeastern Europe and beyond,” Ellwood said.

The program will also include a Harvard conference 'Inspiring Leadership and Momentum' at the Athens Information Technology, where over 200 alumni will take part in lectures and discussions led by Dean Ellwood and other Kennedy School senior faculty.

The day will culminate in a gala celebration with keynote addresses by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and internationally acclaimed journalist Dr Fareed Zakaria, Ellwood and Kokkalis.

Awarded a Kokkalis Fellowship to study at the Kennedy School, Jeremic graduated in 2003 with a Master in Public Administration and International Development.

“My time at the Kennedy School made me strengthen my commitment to democracy,” said Jeremic. “There I was able to build up the confidence to keep fighting for the democratic values we so often take for granted,” he recalled.

Zakaria was named 'one of the 21 most important people of the 21st Century' by Esquire as well as one of the 10 most influential graduates of Harvard University, where he received his PhD in 1993.

Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post. He is also a member of the roundtable of ABC News' 'This Week with George Stephanapoulos,” an analyst for ABC News, and host of the PBS show 'Foreign Exchange.'

The Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe was established in 1997 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University with the mission to enhance the quality of democracy and institutional vitality in Southeastern Europe through education, the spokesman said.

During the past decade, it has provided the means for hundreds of students, scholars, policymakers and activists to study and exchange ideas at Harvard.

'The Kokkalis Foundation's mission is similar to that of the Kokkalis Program – to facilitate peace, international cooperation, and prosperity in Southeastern Europe,' he added. TradeArabia News Service